Browse Items (35 total)
-
Three women stand in front of thatched roof building, c. 1950
Three women stand in front of a thatched roof structure with bamboo fence. This may be the home of Ann Shepard Patterson on Hutchinson Island. -
Couple poses next to thatched hut, c. 1940
A couple sits with their arms around each in front of a thatched roof structure. Handwritten note on the back of the photo reads "Cabana-built by Shepard's Place (Patterson); Hutchinson 1939 or 40." -
Man stands next to thatched hut, c. 1945
Man in swim trunks stands next to the window of a thatched roof building/hut with two people visible inside the structure. -
Thatched building and bamboo fence, 1949
Building with thatched roof and bamboo fence on Hutchinson Island. This structure was possibly the home of Ann Shepard Patterson, daughter of William and Lucy Anne Shepard who owned the Landmark Bessey-Perkins-Shepard home as well as the France Apartments for a time. The Bessey-Perkins-Shepard home burned down in 1947. Ann Shepard Patterson sold the land where the house stood previously to the city of Stuart in 1951. The city turned the site into Shepard Park. -
Chief Ghee Maw, c. 1938
Accompanying photo of same man labeled "Chief Ghee Maw, last survivor of Buffalo Bill's Indians, Gomez, Fla." -
Chief Ghee Maw, c. 1938
Labeled "Chief Ghee Maw, last survivor of Buffalo Bill's Indians, Gomez, Fla." Seminole man standing in front of "Indian Village." Signs include alligator wrestling. -
Seminole man and Edith Coventry, c. 1938
Man in traditional Seminole dress with photographer Edith Coventry.
"Ugly Will Bill's Indian Village and zoo" opened in 1937, a roadside tourist attraction created by Bill and Bessie Meredith as an addition to their gas station was established. The "Indian village" included two married couples and several children. One of the men, Richard Osceola, demonstrated alligator wrestling. The tourist attraction also included a small zoo with an alligator (transported from Ward's Camp in Jensen Beach in 1937), monkeys, racoons, squirrels, possums, snakes, and a lion as well as a lunchroom and gift shop.
In 1939, it's noted that Osceola's infant daughter, Juanita, died in Tampa at the DeSoto exhibition, and that he was the official interpreter for the Brighton reservation. It is unknown if the "Indian village" part of the tourist attraction continued.
By 1941, Meredith encountered a series of issues, including Martin County wanting him to move his buildings back from the road for enlargement, a fired manager refusing to leave, the hotel inspector demanding rats and cockroaches be killed, and his old alligator killing a new alligator. By August 1944, it's mentioned that his main line of business was operating coin operated music and amusement machines, with an office in the Kruger Building. He and Bessie moved to Soperton, Georgia at the end of 1947, where he operated Peach State Music Company until his death in a car wreck in June 1949. -
Stuart city park and bandstand, c. 1935
Two thatched pavillions and a bandstand between Flagler Avenue and Osceola Street, downtown Stuart. Replaced by the Pressel building in 1940. -
Thatched chickee huts, Summer 1929
Two large thatched huts, a few workers sitting on the steps.Tags Thatched roofs -
Camp of surveyors, c. 1918
Thatched huts, tents, and men in a camp. Boat nearby. Possibly a surveying team due to the presence of long striped poles.